Recently, an article posted on a Chicago Tribune blog reported that news producers, writers and editors at an NBC-owned TV station in the Windy City had to reapply for new, multi-faceted positions. The article said that staffers at WMAQ-TV were told this because of increasing demands to provide content not just for TV but the Internet, mobile devices and other emerging platforms.
Media are converging quickly. Distribution channels are being developed at a rapid pace. And with it are the demands for television news and sports people to be multi-dimensional in order to meet these demands.
That goes for broadcast talent as well. At Comcast Sportsnet, the station that employs me as play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, I also have to fulfill requirements to provide content for the station’s website, csnphilly.com http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/main. This includes filing a video report on the team following every game and writing a weekly column on the Sixers called Zoo’s Views.
Interestingly, I’ve also seen reporters in the field for the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper filing video reports for their website as they experience their own media convergence.
The message for those of you trying to break into the business as broadcast performers is clear, come to the market equipped with a number of tools. Be ready to write, learning through a combination of course work and experience at a school newspaper or other publication. Also, be sure you know at least the rudiments of shooting and editing. Of course, this latter point is true anyway given the fact that at many small market stations, one-man bands in the field are often commonplace.
At www.marczumoff.com, we’ll help you to be prepared for the rapidly changing world of media, how it’s distributed and your role in it.
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